Intruder Alert
by Flying-with-lions
Summary: The Paladin's morning starts out like any other day...that is until Coran and Allura run into the room, lock tne door, and turn off the lights telling everyone to stay quiet.
1. Prolouge

Pidge started the morning as usual by drowsily making her way to the kitchen. Hunk was at the sink washing the dishes. Shiro was finishing his cup of coffee and Lance and Keith were both asleep on the table their bowls of food goo in front of them still untouched.

Allura and Coran suddenly ran into the room and shut the door behind them sliding the lock into place. Shiro stood up and Hunk turned the water off. Pidge turned in her seat watching as she continued to eat her food goo.

"Princess? Coran? Is..is everything alright?" Shiro walked towards them. Allura looked like she had seen a ghost and Coran was messing with his mustache nervously.

Keith and Lance were still asleep so Pidge turned around and kicked them in the shins under the table. Keith opened his eyes immediately and sat up. He read the situation in the room and managed to keep his mouth shut although that didn't stop him from giving Pidge a look. Lance on the other hand...

"OW PIDGE! THAT HURT!" He yelled out as he rubbed his shin under the table all the while glaring at her.

"Paladins quiet please!" Allura whispered clearly scared out of her mind. She flicked off the lights to the room and attempted to get to the middle of the room. She tripped and landed against Shiro who caught her in his arms.

"Princess what is going on?" Shiro whispered firmly trying to figure out what got the Princess so scared.

There was a moment of silence before she responded it was almost deafening.

"Someone's on the ship."

**AN: This is just a prologue. I can't write anymore without revealing more than I want to at this point but more will be coming soon!!!** _**(This was a ruff idea so please let me know if you want more. I'd really appreciate it!)**_


	2. Chapter 1

Allura pushed passed Shiro and headed to the back of the room. She shuffled along the back wall obviously looking for something.

"Prin-" Shiro started to say but Allura interrupted him.

"There are these aliens aboard that can create natural elements out of nothing and bring them out of nowhere," She grunted as she bumped into the couch and nearly fell over, "They are known to board ships and kill the members of the ship one by one until no one is left. They have this special ability to sneak onto the ships without triggering any alarms." she turned to face them...or where she thought they would be in the pitch black room. "That's why I need everyone to stay quiet and do exactly as I say."

Lance snickered for some reason and he received another swift kick from Pidge. He was about to cry out when Keith found Lance's mouth and covered it with his hand.

Pidge slid gingerly from the chair at the table and found her way next to the princess by listening to the swishing of her dress against the floor. She only stumbled like three or four times.

"What are you looking for exactly?" Pidge whispered. Allura stopped moving along the wall long enough to answer her question.

"Every room in the castle has a secret passage that connects each room to an emergency bunker that has no other entry point except through the passages. My father had them installed on all of his ships after these same creatures attacked one of his cargo ships,"

After hearing the desperation in her voice Pidge stood next to her moving her hands along the wall.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" she asked again loud enough for the other paladins to her but not too loud to where it would attract attention to there location. A few moments later she heard some movement next to her and then on the other side of Allura. She smiled the others had picked up on her hint.

"We're looking for anything out of the ordinary. A raised panel a hidden lever, a switch of some sort."

"You mean like this?" Lance asked. There was a small click and then a panel slid open right in front of Pidge. As the door opened she could feel the cold draft blow past her.

"As you can see these tunnels haven't been used in a while," Pidge said as a couple of spiders ran past her bare feet. She jumped away as they scurried past.

"Well there being used now," Allura said as she made her way towards the tunnel. The sound of the PA system caused her to turn around.

A raspy voice spoke.

_"Attention all members aboard this ship. You have been one of the lucky few chosen for a game. The game you may ask is quite fun actually."_ Snickers could be heard on the other side of the comm. _"It's a game of survival. Every man for himself no teams and no truces. The object of the game is to be the last one standing. To become the last one standing you must kill your comrades. You make think "No there's no way I'd kill one of my crewmembers" well think again. Because if bodies don't start dropping within 30 minutes….."_ there was a slight pause, _"...then we'll start dropping them for you."_

There was a click as the PA system turned off. The Paladins looked at each other pure horror on their face.

_How could anyone be so cruel?_ Pidge thought as Allura hurried them into the tunnel. Pidge knew she wasn't the only one thinking it.

As they made it farther down the tunnel the more sand that covered the metal flooring. It was very easy for someone to go sliding down and end up lost in the maze of tunnels. Pidge stepped carefully every step of the way.

Of course, Lance was the one to slip a few moments later. Pidge had the wind knocked out of her as Lance slid under her. She landed on top of him and they both went sliding down the tunnel. Pidge covered her eyes and held her breath. The fading sound she heard was Shiro and Allura's screaming "NO!"


	3. Chapter 2

Pidge sat up with a groan and opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything it was if her eyes were not open at all. Lance shifted beneath her as he recovered from the slide down. Pidge got off of him as he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh that was fun." he chuckled a little bit.

"Lance, can you not be serious for once in your life? Were lost in a maze of tunnels with no possible way of seeing, and Allura is the only one who knows how to get to the bunker. So we're sitting ducks," Pidge groped in the darkness to try and get a sense to the tunnel around them. Her hand met the metal wall, it was nice and cool like the rest of the castle. Pidge stood up and walked along the wall her hand pressed against it. She walked for a bit until she couldn't hear the sound of Lance's voice talking to pass the time. She had stopped listening when she had made contact with the wall and walked away. Allura said that every room in the castle had a secret passage that led to the bunker. So if she could find a room then she could either one escape the dark tunnels with Lance and have a chance of running into the aliens, or she could stay put safely inside the tunnels with no chance of rescue for a while.

Knowing that there was no way a dead end was close to them in this direction she turned back. She walked back the grains of sand would slide under her feet every so often. She stepped carefully. She followed her hand on the wall as it went around the curve.

"idge?...Pidge?" she heard Lance's voice calling out from the darkness, "Pidge answer me!" he sounded panicked.

"Lance you okay?" she couldn't help from smiling as Lance went from chatting a few minutes ago to complete panic.

"Oh my god, Pidge you scared me," relief filled his voice, "Don't ever do that again."

"Sorry, I was lost in thought," she reached her hand out and found Lance's shoulder. She kept her hand on him as she moved passed him.

"What are you looking for?" he asked not moving until her hand left his shoulder.

"Remember what the princess said? How every room in the castle has a secret passage connected to it?" she continued to walk down the passage her hand following the wall. She heard the sound of sand shuffling as Lance stood up and headed towards her voice.

"Not really."

"Of course, you don't. You were too busy keeping yourself from snickering out loud," She stopped walking, "What was so funny anyway?"

Lance was quiet for a minute, "n-nothing."

Pidge was quiet from that point on following the wall and focusing on finding a way out. It was a few moments later that she had collided with a wall and she pulled her hand back.

"I think I've found it," she called out to the darkness.

"Well let's see if Allura was right," Lance replied.

Pidge moved her hands along the door until her hand was stopped by a leaver built into the door. Gripping it with both hands she pulled down on it but it didn't budge. She pushed down on it.

"I-I think it's...stuck." it still didn't budge.

"Here, let me help," he pushed down on the leaver while she pulled. Eventually, the lever moved little by little.

The sound of the panel creaking open filled their ears and Pidge peeked around the corner. They had found the panel that led to the training deck. Pidge smiled they weren't that far from the armory.

"Hey La-" she was cut short as she was shoved outside the tunnel.

"One thing that your princess forgot to mention was that we are very good at shapeshifting," Lance smiled at her before closing the panel with an unsatisfying click. She started banging on the door.

"You imposter! Get back here!" she yelled at the wall. A door opened behind her and she turned to face it. Standing in the door were two other aliens that looked exactly like Allura and Coran.

"Well hello, there green paladin."


	4. Chapter 3

_**AN: So I'm just going to go ahead and bump up the rating for future chapters XD Enjoy!**_

"How many of you are there?" Pidge yelled at the two creatures impersonating Allura and Coran. The creatures smiled and looked at each other.

"As many as we want."

Pidge watched as Allura split from the middle her skin melted into two separate piles. Then it formed back together making two new "Allura's". She watched in horror as the same thing happened to "Coran".

"W-what are you?" she backed away calmly towards a door that led out into the hallway. She had to keep them distracted long enough for her to make her way to the armory.

"Uh uh uh. That's not important right now, what's important is who are you?" the creature gestured his hand out towards her.

Pidge's hand reached the door and she said, "I am Pidge gunderson the Paladin of the green lion, and it was really nice to meet you, but I really have to go," with that the door slid open and she dashed down the corridor towards the armory.

She made it a few moments later making a beeline to the bayards. She picked her bayard up and placed the others in a bag that was lying nearby.

Pidge had just zipped the abg close when she heard yelling in the hallway. The sound of footsteps outside the door sent her to the vent covering next to the door. She activated her bayard and cut it open. She cut a hole big enough for her to slide through easily while still being careful to avoid the sharp edges as she crawled through.

There was a loud bang as the door came crashing down and several footsteps entered the room. Pidge still had to get her legs through without scratching them too badly and she was running out of time! She clawed at the strap around her shoulder to get it off and push it in front of her. She was starting to move forward when an icy hand clamped down on her ankle and started to pull her backwards.

_NO!NO!NO!_

She tried to find a handhold but she was moving too fast. She knew it was coming but she still jumped when the sharp edges left long scratches from her waist all the way up to her collarbone. She let out a agonizing scream as the creature tugged her when the metal edge caught on her collarbone. The creature finally dropped her legs and she forced herself up. Pulling the edge out of her skin.

Her shirt was ripped and soaked with blood. There was a trail of blood drops left behind her as she forced herself to put as much distance between her and the creatures. At one point her head was spinning so bad that she collapsed. She let out shaky breath.

She grabbed the bag that held the other bayards and opened it. She pulled out the red bayard.

_Let's hope this works._

She held the bayard in her hand and closed her eyes speaking with her mind.

_Please work! I won't make it to a cryopod and I don't have anything to stop the bleeding…_

Pidge opened her eyes when she felt her hand grow warm. There in her hand was keith's bayard glowing a rose red. Her eyes were wide with wonder and she watched for a minute or two. Her cider colored eyes reflecting the glow.

She snapped out of it when she took a breath and her whole front was enveloped in pain. Pidge ripped her shirt the rest of the way off and twisted a strip into a small roll. She activated her bayard so it was giving her some light so she could see as she worked.

She placed the roll of her shirt into her mouth and held it there. Gripping the bayard a little bit tighter she brought it closer to her skin. It made contact and she bit the cloth as hard as she could. Tears formed in her eyes and beads of sweat gathered at the back of her neck. She concentrated as she worked on the first of three deep long scratches on her body.

The skin melted together and the smell of burning flesh filled the vent. She was halfway done with the last one when she pulled the bayard away letting the silent tears fall down her cheeks. Her hair was matted to the back of her neck and the rest of her body was warming up despite the freezing metal walls of the vent.

When the pain had subsided for the most part she replaced the rolled up cloth in her mouth and continued her work.


	5. Chapter 4

The first thing Pidge felt when she stirred was the cold metal of the vent around her body. Opening her eyes completely she saw the fresh bright pink scar tissue that ran down her front. She sat up as much as she was able to get a better look.

Her bra was ripped but surprisingly the seam by the collar bone had stayed intact, and even the skin had absorbed her bra into itself. Her shirt was ripped and completely soaked in blood lying on the floor so she was stuck in what she had. The green and red bayards were lying a few inches behind her on top of the bag with the others.

Her head was only a few inches from the top of the vent at the moment, so when she turned over onto her stomach she lowered her head so she wouldn't hit it by accident. Now facing the bag that held the bayards she got up on her hands and knees and crawled forward pushing the bag in front of her leaving the bloody mess behind.

She had traveled these vents many times before when trying to find a place to get some peace and quiet or to avoid training, which Shiro did not find amusing. However, it was hilarious to Pidge and the others when Shiro started freaking out when they couldn't find her only for her to turn up in a room a few minutes later that they had just checked.

Pidge sent the bag sliding far in front of her. Mostly out of pure frustration. How could she have been so stupid!

"I should have seen it sooner. The way he acted even after Allura told us to be quiet," she scowled at herself. She could still hear the snickers coming from the creature that impersonated Lance.

"And now the rest of the team is in the tunnels with that crazy lunatic alien complete unaware that he's an impostor. I-" she stopped for a moment. "I have no idea where they are…." she whispered it. Almost she couldn't even hear what she said.

Her cider brown eyes harden with annoyance.

"Ahhh!" she slammed her fist against the side of the vent, "I can't do this...not by myself... I'm not strong enough.." she hung her head in defeat. A shaky yet quiet breath escaped pass her lips and she could feel her eyes building up with tears bound to break loose at any moment. She gripped her fists into balls and she shut her eyes. A single tear made it past her lashes, it made a path down her cheek and dropped onto the floor.

Silent tears ran down her face as she curled up on the floor of the vent. _I'm just the tech-genius. They only act like I'm a useful member of the team when really….I'm just extra baggage. I'm not as fast as them, I'm not as strong as them, I'm- _

Pidge's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a grunt come from the tunnel to her left. She reached for her bayard only to look up and see it resting next to the bag next to Keith's red one.

_Crap…._

She held her breath as the sound got nearer and nearer. Someone was struggling to fit through the vents and she was suddenly grateful for how small she was. She tried to focus on the ever closer growing sound only to be distracted by her thoughts.

_Can you really live up to the name Pidge Gunderson?_

_Focus!_

_Or are you just Katie Holt?_

_Focus!_

_A weak link! A nobody!_

_Pidge shut her eyes and curled in on herself._

_Wait… you probably can't even live up to the Holt name!_

_Focus!_

_Your father? Dead!_

_Your brother? Dead!_

_Focus! _

She hugged herself the grip she had on her arms was so tight they were turning white.

Oh and your poor mother…. She probably doesn't even want to see you! I mean you did abandon her after all.

That was it that was all she could take. She sat herself up so quickly that she became dizzy, but she didn't care. Instead, she let out a scream trying to chase all the thoughts away. When she stopped she was sobbing again this time louder.

She had completely forgotten about someone making their way towards her. They had finally made it and they peeked their head around the corner to see a small girl sitting on her knees her legs facing outwards and her face in her hands.

They opened their mouth a spoke a single word. It wasn't much but it was enough to get her to look up.

"Pidge?"

_**AN: Here's another chapter hope you liked it!**_


	6. Chapter 5

Pidge looked up, she'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Lance?" she inched forward to get a better look, "is it really you?"

"Yes! Yes! It's me!" he sounded excited. Pidge let out a sigh of relief and crawled towards the bag that held their bayards. Pidge picked up the red one and placed it in the bag, she then grabbed hers and activated it. It lit up the vent with a green hue. She dug around in the bag trying to find the blue bayard.

She found it a few moments later and turned to hand it to Lance. He gratefully took it from her and attached it to his belt. He turned back to her and he voiced her thoughts.

"What now?"

A fan farther down the vent had kicked on sending a small breeze throughout the small corridor

She shoved the bag farther down the vent and turned back to Lance, "I need to get something," he nodded and she turned to lead the way. She had been careful to keep the light off of her. Who knows how Lance would act if he saw what had happened. What she had been forced to do.

A few moments later she was looking down into her room from the vent cover. Lance was still making his way around the corner. His broad shoulders didn't help much as he tried to maneuver through the vent.

By the time Lance made it to the vent covering, Pidge had already dropped to the floor of her room. A few minutes later Lance followed landing on his back on a pile of computer parts.

"Ow! Why the heck to do you have a pile of computer parts in the middle of your room?" he asked as he rolled off of them and onto the metal floor.

"Because," she turned around to face him. In the time it took for Lance to escape the vent she had managed to find a shirt, "I don't have anywhere else to put it." she chuckled, "and it makes a great landing spot for unwanted visitors."

"Speaking of unwanted visitors, what are we going to do about our unwanted visitors?"

"I-I hadn't thought that far. My only focus was to get as far away from them as possible," she fingered the shirt right below her collar bone absentmindedly.

Lance nodded and moved to sit on the bed. "Hey, are you okay?" Pidge shook her head as if she was waking up from a trance.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled at him and pulled up a map of the castle on her computer. Lance knew something was up, but he only thought she was still trying to process what had happened some thirty minutes ago. Even he was still trying to understand how the alien creatures had managed to slip past the castle's defenses and security features.

An "of course they don't" escaped through Pidge's frustrated sigh. Lance looked over her shoulder at the map that was on her computer screen. He could recognize some of the rooms such as the bridge and the kitchen but the majority he was still unsure about.

"What?" he asked still looking at the map.

"The tunnels. King Alfor was smart and didn't put any of the tunnels on the map." she looked closer at the map.

Lance nearly fell off the bed when Pidge let out a triumphant "Yes!" and ran to the opposite wall in her room.

Pidge moved her hands around excitedly as she tried to find the trigger that opened the door to the tunnels. She found it a few moments later and listened to the click as she pressed down on the small panel.

"Uh, I thought you said the map didn't have any indication as to the location of the tunnels," Lance walked up to the tunnel entrance and looked down both ways.

"Yeah, that was before I remembered what the Allura said and I looked closer. Then I found it!" Pidge was jumping up and down.

"Found what?"

"In each room there was this random line that didn't go with anything. Then I started thinking what if that was where the panel was, and turns out I was right."

"That's nice but-" Lance was cut off as there was a knock at the door.

"Pidge? Are you there?" a gentle voice came from behind the door, "please let us in the creatures aren't far behind." the voice sounded scared.

_**AN: So here is another chapter! Hopefully I will be able to update this story and my other one tonight!**_


	7. Chapter 6

The knocking at the door got louder and louder. Pidge knowing for sure now that Allura and the other's were not outside her door shoved Lance into the tunnels. She grabbed a flashlight and jumped in after him. She had just slid the secret door closed when her bedroom door clattered to the floor. Several footsteps entered the room knocking things off her bed and rummaging through things on the floor. Pidge flicked the light on and quickly walked away from her room. Instantly she heard crashing of items being thrown across the room and hitting the wall. She prayed silently that they wouldn't hit the panel that opened the entrance to the tunnel.

She heard Lance following silently behind her. Every once in a while his foot would not lift entirely off of the ground and it would slide across the metal floor. Pidge led in front shining the flashlight out in front of them. Right now the only plan she had was to wander around the tunnels until she ran into to someone. _As long as it's not that impostor, _she thought to herself.

She frowned as she adjusted the light in her hand. She fingered with her shirt as she walked. She just couldn't seem to understand why the red bayard would activate. She wasn't the red Paladin Keith was, which left her to wonder even more. Could it sense her distress? She wasn't sure but whatever she thought it revolved around being able not to just sense what its Paladin needs but also the people around it. Of course it was just a theory and she needed to confirm it. Now having something to do, sure it was far down on the priority list, but at least it was something.

They came to a split hallway, both were just as dark and creepy as the other. Pidge looked from on to the other and looked back at Lance shining the light at his feet.

"What do you think?" Lance seemed to take a moment to think looking from one tunnel to the other.

"I think either one would be fine," he replied glancing at the tunnels again. Pidge turned around keeping the flashlight pointed at the ground and started to walk towards the one on the right. She stopped suddenly and she felt Lance run into her causing her to stumble a few steps forward.

There standing in front of her were a pair of Lance's shoes she slowly moved the flashlight up her heart starting to race and her breaths coming in short and fast.

"L-Lance?" she asked her voice shaking.

"Yeah?" came the voice behind her. Suddenly Pidge went completely pale. The flashlight had finally made its way to the person's face.

The face was Lance's the only thing that was different was that the eyes were opened wide staring into her soul. The mouth was twisted up into a creepy grin, sending chills down her spine. The impostor took a step forward and instinctively Pidge took a step back and grabbed lance's sleeve pulling on it.

"R-R-R…." she couldn't get the word out of her mouth, "R-R-R-RUN!" she finally managed to scream the word and without hesitation Lance took off running in the opposite direction Pidge close behind. Pidge didn't dare turn around to check but she heard another set of footsteps right behind them.

One moment Pidge was running for her life the next she was on the floor trying desperately to stand up, the flashlight had long since left her hand and was nowhere to be found. A hand clapped down on her ankle, and there was a flash of the vent across her mind as she was dragged toward the impostor. When she came to a stop the cool air encompassed her middle that had been exposed. She didn't notice as the figure above her lowered towards her. She wanted to cry out, but couldn't she was paralyzed with fear.

A hand rested on her skin gently tracing the pink scars then it started moving up following the scars all the way to her chest. The hand spread out and Pidge grabbed it and pulled it away.

"NO!" she screamed at the being. The impostor let out a growl and smacked her. Not with a human and but with a clawed hand. Her face stung as she fought back to get him off of her. His hand went back drawing lines on her middle with one claw. Slowly he pressed down drawing a little blood and Pidge squirmed, but he only placed a hand around her neck.

"How about a few more to add to the collection?"

Without warning he moved his clawed hand across her middle not stopping when pieces of skin got stuck together. Pidge let out a blood curdling scream and in one last feeble attempt to get him off of her.

Somehow she had managed to crawl away heading down the tunnel. Once more her head was spinning and her breath was coming in short and fast and beads of sweat covered her face. Tears flowed down her face as she forced herself to crawl forward although she didn't cry out. Footsteps from behind her came up quickly and kicked her in the side. She collapsed, but the kicking continued. At this point she was out of it, she was in and out of consciousness. Her body turned numb to the pain.

There was a loud blast and the kicking ceased. Rapid footsteps ran up to her and dropped to her side. Her body was exhausted and she was so tired she just wanted to sleep. She closed her eyes, but not for long.

"Pidge! Pidge, I need you to stay awake! Can you do that?" Lance gently shook her shoulder and she raised a bloody hand that landed on his chest before falling.

"Leave….me….alone…..let….me….sleep…" her voice trailed off as she started to close her eyes.

"Pidge!"


	8. Chapter 7

It started with a single drop.

"Lance!! Pidge!!" Hunk called.

"I feel like we've been walking in circles, " Keith said.

_Drip_.

They walked through the tunnels every few minutes calling the missing paladins names.

"they could've disappeared into any tunnel, " Allura said, "Lance!!!" she called the blue paladin's name again.

"if they're smart they wouldn't have moved, " Shiro said.

_Drop_.

"Is it possible that the creatures could have found a way into the tunnels?" Hunk asked looking around nervously.

"it's absolutely impossible to find a way in without using the panels, " Allura replied.

_Drip_.

Keith was walking next to Shiro. Allura was in front of them and Hunk was behind.

"Do you hear that?" Keith whispered to Shiro.

"Hear what?"

_Drop_.

"that!" he says as he hears it again. Shiro listens for a moment.

_Drip. Drop_.

The sound became a little bit faster and Shiro could hear it clear as day.

_Drip. Drop. Drip_.

There was a distant crash that sounded like rain and everyone froze.

Allura spoke quickly, "I think they found us," she says. The sound of water approaching became louder.

"You don't say," Keith says sarcastically.

They break into a run trying to keep the sound far away from them.

Tunnel shook as the water gained on them. It quickly overcame them and they were instantly enveloped in the pitch black water.

The current threw them about making them slam into each other. Each time Allura was thrown against the wall or another person she opened her mouth as if she was going to scream. No scream came out, however, a lot of water came in. Her lungs ached and she felt her mouth trying to force her mouth open to take a breath. Each time she gave in and each time water filled her mouth.

It felt like an hour before she felt herself being lowered down onto the ground as the water receded. She was on the edge of consciousness her eyes opening and closing.

She heard the other Paladins stirring around her coughing up water and breathing in deeply the fresh air they so desperately needed.

Coran's face appeared over her's, "Princess are you alright?" He asked gently shaking her. She opened her eyes and forced herself to sit up. When she did so her body was racked with coughing as all the water she swallowed came back out.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked hoarsely. One by one each Paladin sat up nodding their response that they were okay.

They sat there recovering from the near-death experience. "We can't stay here we have to keep moving," Keith said.

"If we can get to the bunker we can grab some lights and maps that'll help us sweep the tunnels better for Lance and Pidge," Allura replied.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hunk asked standing up. He immediately felt nauseous and he leaned against the wall, "oh….that's why…"

"Our bodies were moving around so much it swirled up the acid in our stomachs. It probably hasn't settled down yet. It could also be from all of the water we swallowed." Shiro said, "just take it easy."

"Guys?" A voice sounded from farther down behind them, "Guys is that you?"

Nobody responded.

"Guys seriously stop with the pranks, this isn't funny!" The voice sounded scared, "it's me, Lance, please say something."

Hunk was the first one to speak, "Lance is It really you?"

"Yes! Yes, it is!" The voice came closer, "I'm so glad I found you guys."

"Where's….Pidge?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"Oh she wandered off in the tunnels somewhere," He replied.

"By herself?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You idiot, there are creatures aboard the castle that can literally kill you with the weather!" Keith replied exasperated, "you were sitting right next to me when they made the horrifying announcement!"

Although no one else could see it Shiro narrowed his eyes.

"Problem Shiro?" Lance asked, "or are is the light too bright?"

Shiro's eyes widened in the darkness, "that's not Lance!" He nearly shouts it.

A whisper sounds next to him sending chills down his spine, "very good Shiro," the voice changed from Lance's to that like a snake but not quite, "I figured you'd be the first to figure it out...well either you or Keith."

A flame appeared in front of them hovering above a human hand. The creature was still disguised as Lance although he didn't bother to disguise his voice. He holds his hand out as if he is gesturing to something behind him.

"Welcome to hell."


	9. chapter 8

Keith had been relieved when he had heard Lance's voice approaching them, but when it had become known that he was alone that's when Keith went from relieved his shoulders visibly relaxing to sliding his knife out and jumping to a crouching position ready to attack at any moment.

The water had tossed everyone around until they lost all sense of direction. It had especially made the world spin around him as he narrowed his eyes to help focus on the creature walking in front of him.

The Lance imposter paced around the tunnel his eyes landing on everyone. His hand was still upturned a flame flickering in it. He observed them his eyes mischievous. They were all soaked and tired completely vulnerable and easy to target, picking them off one by one.

Keith watched his eyes following his every movement. The longer they sat there in drenched clothes the more likely they were to get hypothermia. The tunnels didn't seem to be warm and inviting, instead they were ice cold as you would think a tunnel would be.

He could feel the warmth being sucked from his body and in it's place he was beginning to shiver.

The alien stopped in front of him and smirked clenching his fist they were enveloped in darkness the creature laughing maniacally echoed throughout the tunnels.

XxX

Lance felt chills down his spine as laughing reached his ears. Shaking his head from the images his mind conjured up of indescribable creatures he turned back to the task at hand.

Pidge was completely soaked in blood. Too much blood for Lance's liking. His shirt in which he had removed from his body to help stem the bleeding was soaked with a deep scarlet.

On his way to attack the alien he had stumbled over the flashlight that Pidge was carrying. He had picked it up and held onto it.

Now he was holding the flashlight, it's beam on Pidge. He held a hand over his mouth his eyes wide with shock. A sound that sounded like gagging mixed with fear escaped his lips.

Pidge who was still unconscious was looking a deathly pale. Her middle had scratches that ran deep all across it. There were pieces of skin still attached that shouldn't be. The musles were shredded and were still attached to places under the skin.

As he sat their trying his best to thinks as to what he could do with limited resources, he came to realize he couldn't move her just by himself. He'd need atleast one other person to help him hold her steady so her wounds wouldn't reopen.

XxX

Keith trudged along beside Hunk according to Allura they should be getting close, but he could hear the uncertainty in her voice. He shivered wrapping his arms around him. His jacket stuck to his skin completely soaked through.

"You okay Keith?" Hunk asked shivering a little bit not as much as Keith was. The temperature seemed to have dropped extensively in the time they had been walking. Which didn't make much sense as there was not a reason for the temperature to be dropping.

"Y-Y-Yeah I'm f-f-fine," he mumbled. He was shivering more violently now and he clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering.

Allura stopped suddenly and stared curiously in front of her. She opened her mouth and exhaled. A small white cloud formed in front of her mouth before disappearing.

"Princess?" Coran asked.

Keith sighed in annoyance causing a white cloud to appear in front of him. It grabbed everyone's attention. They glanced at each other panic evident in their eyes.

Unless they could find the bunker they were going to be trapped in the tunnels completely soaked and from the looks of things now, snow was on it's way.


	10. Chapter 9

Keith was walking next to Hunk who had an arm around him attempting to keep both of them warm. In the few minutes that they had been walking nearly all of them had slipped on the ice that appeared from nowhere at least once. With so much focus on trying to keep steady Keith didn't recognize that the group had stopped walking until Hunk stopped him from bumping into Coran.

Peering around Coran Keith saw Allura and Shiro only a few feet ahead. He moved past Coran curiosity grabbing his attention. As he approached he saw the outline of Shiro on the ground looking at something Allura looking over his shoulder. Allura then turned and addressed the group.

"Does anyone happen to have a light source of some kind?"

Everyone checked their pockets, prying the wet clothing apart to check deep pockets. Keith didn't bother to check as he knew for a fact that he didn't carry a light of any kind on him.

"Oh! I have one!" Hunk said piping up. It was a small penlight, but when he turned it on it was clear it had a strong beam. He shined it over everyone to find them staring at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Hunk how long have you had that?" Allura asked calmly. Almost too calmly, too the point where he consciously took a step back.

"Um..well I think it's been in my pocket for a while." Hunk said completely unaware of how close Allura had gotten. Keith honestly felt bad for him wishing he had mentioned it earlier so they wouldn't be having this conversation now.

"So you're saying you had the light on you the whole time?"

_Don't answer that! _he thought trying to grab Hunk's attention, but he had his eye's locked with Allura's.

"Yes?"

Keith audibly face palmed groaning as he heard Shiro shift nervously next to him.

"Right. So we've been wondering the tunnels for hours, in the DARK, might I add. While you had a flashlight in your pocket the whole time? We could've cut the time in half if we could see where we're going!"

Realizing his mistake he glanced just behind Allura to Keith and Shiro, his eyes begging for help. They both just shrugged indicating Hunk was on his own.

Allura snatched the penlight from his hand and returned to where Shiro and Keith stood. Pointing the flashlight at the ground they all froze at what they saw. It was Lance's blue baseball tee all crumpled on the metal flooring of the tunnel completely soaked in blood. Right next to the wall was a pool of it scaring each of them. Looking farther down the tunnel every few inches there was a new drop of blood. Which of the two missing Paladins had lost so much blood and from the looks of things was still losing it?

Without another word, everyone followed Allura carefully avoiding the drops of blood. Keith had completely forgotten that he was freezing with what they had discovered it had invaded his mind and took it over. Now that he thought about every possible outcome of this the cold started to sink into his body again.

It wasn't but a few minutes before they heard shuffling ahead. Coming around a corner they found a Shirtless Lance kneeling on the ground leaning over something. The group approached not announcing it was them. In one swift move, Lance had his bayard activated and he had it trained on them. They held up their hands all explaining that it was them. Sighing with relief he lowered his bayard and sank against the wall. They quickly approached him, Allura immediately started to check him over, but he refused it motioning to the figure he was leaning over when they first came across them.

Allura trained the penlight on where Lance was gesturing only to drop it in fright. The penlight landed so that it cast a shadow of a figure picking up another one and disappearing down the tunnel.


	11. Chapter 10

The cool air was the first thing Pidge felt as she regained consciousness. In front of her, she heard the muffled sound of voices talking. To her right, she heard a soft buzz before a rush of cool air flew past her face as her legs gave out and she stumbled to the floor.

"Finally," a voice said causing Pidge to look up. As she looked up she was met with a creature with skin like caked mud lounging in a chair.

"You humans are so vulnerable and weak." He said rising front the chair and coming to stand right in front of her.

Pidge was frozen to the spot her hands splayed out in front of her. This was not what she was expecting the creature to look like.

The creature knelt to be eye-level with her. "Honestly I didn't know what to expect when I climbed aboard this ship, I mean it's not every day you come across an Altean ship," he reached his hand out and brushed his fingers against her cheek. Pidge pulled away sliding back a little across the floor.

The creature shook his head, "like I said weak and vulnerable-" he met her eyes his face going dark...well darker and smirked- "all the more reason to continue this game."

"Wait-" Pidge's voice cracked causing her to clear her throat and start again, "Wait, you're not going to kill me?"

He let out a laugh that was like nails on a chalkboard to her, "As much fun as I had to attack you the first time...It wouldn't be as fun for me just to kill you and not let one of the others do it." He said smirking at her before rising and returning to the chair.

"You're sick!" Pidge yelled. She glared at him, with every fiber of her being she wished she could strike but right at this moment she had no chance. However, she knew that she could wait...she'd wait for the right time to strike.

XxX

"Lance look at me!" Allura was sitting right in front of him the penlight aimed at an angle allowing her to see what she needed too.

Lance's whole torso was covered in blood. His hair was matted to his forehead and the back of his neck. His face was speckled with dirt and spots of crimson. He sat there in silence his eyes having a faraway look in them.

"Lance!" Allura called again.

Slowly his eyes turned to Allura before flitting to the people behind her.

"Guys?" He raised his eyebrows in question his voice strained. His eyes were glassed over and were in and out of focus.

"Lance, what happened?" Allura asked calmly.

"What happened?" He turned his head to look just past Allura his eyes scanning the blackness that surrounded them.

His eyes welled with tears falling almost immediately leaving streaks running down his face. "I-" with that, he broke down his body shuddering with every sob. Allura looked back at the others her worried gaze matching theirs.

A frigid wind blew through the tunnel nipping at their skin. While the others shivered in the rapidly dropping temperature Lance hardly reacted. His hands were buried in his hair, his teeth were clenched together as he cried his body racked with sobs.

Allura turned back to Lance reaching a hand out to get his attention. If he wasn't going to tell them what happened they could at least take him with them. She somehow had a feeling that they weren't that far from the bunker. She didn't know-how, she hadn't been down here in ages, but she had a feeling that they were getting close.

Lance looked up at her touch. His ocean blue eyes were dimmed and broken, pools of tears were gathered at the edge of his eyes threatening once again to spill onto his smudged-tearstreaked face. Allura's heart shattered as she stood helping him up as well. It hurt seeing the life and party of Voltron so hurt.

Allura slipped her hand into Lance's pulling him forward with her to the front of the group. Lance, however, did not follow. Looking back Allura found him to be rooted to the spot his eyes, looking just past her, wide with fear. What had happened to cause him to be acting this way?


	12. Chapter 11

Allura came back to stand in front of Lance her eyes searching his, "Lance what happened?" she asked her voice just above a whisper. Behind her, Shiro and Keith shifted. Hunk glanced down the tunnel nervously.

"Princess we shouldn't stay here much longer," Coran mumbled from her side.

Allura acknowledged him with a nod not removing her gaze from Lance. Coran was right they shouldn't stay here much longer. It wouldn't take long for the creatures to find them. However, they couldn't leave without Lance, he appeared to be traumatized enough, and leaving him here in the tunnel would drive him mad.

Leaned back against the tunnel wall arms wrapped around himself, Lance was staring at the tunnel floor, his eyes vacant, face blank. Slowly he starts to shake his head, refusing to speak.

Flashing a glance back at the others she sighed and tried again.

"Lance come with us. We'll keep you safe," she placed a hand on his bare shoulder. It was cold as ice. He shifted slightly before pushing himself off the wall and grabbing Allura's hand.

* * *

Pidge had officially decided that this creature was not going to be alive by the time she cut herself free from the chair she had been forced into. She glared at him as he rummaged through the cabinets. Adjusting her hands against her bindings she muttered a curse under her breath as her eyes caught a blade sitting on the counter just out of her reach.

Before she had a chance to even think about how she was going to reach it he turned back around. He looked her over for what felt like the millionth time since she had been released from the pod. He clearly was in no rush with allowing her to wander into death, rather instead he seemed to enjoy watching her squirm every time he looked her way.

"I would say it's time," he said approaching her. He swiped the blade from the table and sliced her bindings.

She remained seated not bothering to run. If he thought he had control over her he was dead wrong. She'd rather die by his hands then running away in fear and being killed by her friend's hands.

He gripped her arm and pulled her forward resting the blade against her neck. His face was mere inches from hers, his eyes full of absolute disdain.

"You will go into the tunnels, and you will be killed by your friends or I will personally find them and give them a very slow and painful death-" he gripped her arm tighter- "I will make you helplessly watch. Your friends will plead for your help but you won't be able to do a damn thing."

She knew it shouldn't have but the words sent chills through her. Her heart was pounding against her chest and she was finding it difficult to breathe. She fought to keep herself from shrinking back in the chair.

Without warning he dragged her from the chair and towards the wall. Pressing a panel to the side she watched in horror as a section of the wall swung open sending a cool breeze into the room. He shoved her into the passage shutting the entrance behind her almost immediately leaving her I complete and utter darkness.

* * *

Allura has planted herself next to Lance refusing to leave his side. It had taking them forever to get him to come with them and she refused to leave him behind. The ever decreasing temprature made her and the others even more determined to fiind the hidden bunker. She passed by several panels all a possible entrance to the bunker, but some kind of energy kept pulling her past them and deeper into the maze of tunnels.

Several moments passed before Allura stopped. Lance stopped just behind her and the others behind them. Shiro came up to her other side whispered in her ear, fearful of drawing unwanted attention.

"What is it?" he glanced ahead into the dark tunnel half expecting something to crawl out of the darkness and into the ring of light the penlight provided. Ever since they had found Lance he had been on his toes freaking out if he heard anything that could raise suspicion.

"Were close." Is all Allura said before she continued forward again.


	13. Chapter 12

It had only been a moment more before a soft blue glow revealed itself behind one of the panels. Allura already having in mind as to what it was placed her hand upon it. Immediately the panel shifted back and too the side revealing a small room with a few cots around the perimeter. Containers that held food and water were stacked against one wall. On the Adjacent wall were weapons that were hanging on the wall. Several of them resembled the paladin's bayards when activated. Hanging in the center of the room was a smaller version of the giant crystal that provided the castle with power.

They all entered the room, the wall closing behind them. Besides just giving off light, the crystal also seemed to be a type of heat source. They could already feel the warmth retuning to their bodies.

Shaking her head from the shock of finally being in the room that they had looked so long for, Allura led Lance over to one of the three cots. He sat down on the bed not saying anything. He Just stared blankly at the ground his face emotionless. Hunk had found a bowl, he filled it with water from a bottle that he had retrieved from one of the crates. Grabbing a cloth from the same bin, he settled himself down next to Lance on the cot and started to clean the dried blood from his skin.

Hunk hadn't even touched him before he jerked away, scooting himself farther back onto the bed. He kept his already wide eyes trained on Hunk. Lance was clearly not going to let anyone near him, so Hunk set down the cloth and gently raised himself from the bed. It was a few moments before Allura decided to step forward and kneel next to the cot in front of him.

"Lance," She spoke gently her hand reaching slowly toward the bowl, "We're here to help. No one is going to hurt you." She held the cloth in her hand, dipping it in the water before placing it on her own skin. Moving it across her skin she allowed him to watch a moment before she returned it back to the bowl. "That's how were going to get the dried blood off of you, but you have to allow us too." She continued speaking in a calm level voice. Once they got Lance cleaned up maybe they would be able to find something to give him to allow him to sleep, but she wasn't even sure if they was even in the medical kit in here.

Hesitenly he nodded his head and moved to the edge of the bed. His hands were tightly clamped together his shoulders clear up by his ears. As Allura raised the cloth to his skin he clenched his eyes shut. Allura guided the cloth in small placid circles, guiding it back to the bowl as necessary. The more the cloth was brought to his skin the more the others could see him become less tense.

Before long a fresh shirt had been found and put on Lance, as well as a small container with a few sleeping pills. Giving a few to Lance he quickly became tired and fell asleep on the cot his hands clenched tightly to the sheets.

**-30 Minutes Later-**

After finding something to eat and drink they began planning their next move. Their main priority was finding Pidge, once they had her and knew that she was safe they could continue with removing the aliens from the Castle of Lions.

Keith was in the middle of explaining that they could search the tunnels in pairs while a few people remained here when a scream errupted from Lance. Everyone's attention turned to the thrashing Cuban boy on the cot.

The sheets had become tangled around his legs as they continued to move. His face was reflecting the same panic they all felt. His hair was matted to his face and the nape of his neck. He let escape another whimper as what ever he was seeing in his dream continue to scare him.

Being the one with natural quick reflexes Keith was the first one to react. Jumping to his feet he hurried over to the cot trying to wake Lance up. It worked becuase seconds later he stopped moving his eyes opening. Seeing Keith right next to him concern forming every feature on his face, Lance quickly threw himself into his chest wrapping his arms around him, he whimpered quietly as he seemed to be remembering the images from his dream. Keith shocked from the sudden trust that came from the blue paladin slowly started to rub circles on his back.

Getting an idea he moved himself, with Lance still holding on tight, to where his back was resting against the head of the bed that was pressed against the wall. He angled his body so that Lance was still able to hold onto him. Lance's head was resting right on his chest his arms wrapped around his lower back. His legs where right next to Keith's, comfortable right where they were at. The whimpering quieted and soon he could hear his steady breathing indicating that he was asleep once more. Keith held his arms firmly around Lance as he rested his head ontop of his.

There was only so much you could do in a situation like this, and Keith was more than willing to do whatever it took to help Lance get back to his normal self. If only it was easy as it sounded.


	14. Chapter 13

As soon as the panel had slammed shut behind her, Pidge sprinted straight into the dark. Being focused on trying to get away from the tunnel as far as she can she isn't too focused on the fact that the tunnels are pitch black. She was reminded of it a moment later when she tripped over her own feet. Taking a moment to gather her bearings she glanced behind her. She knew that she wasn't going to see anything, but the weird thing was that it brought a kind of comfort knowing that the darkness provided a kind of security for her.

Rising to her feet she continued on at a slower pace. After a while, she became accustomed to the sound of her bare feet hitting the sand-covered metal and her breathing. Moments passed where she found herself wondering about how the other paladins were faring and if they had found the bunker yet. If they had managed to find the bunker were they looking for her? Not bothering to dwell on it too long she began to think about a game plan. Her main priority was to stay alive as long as she could...that is until she came across her friends and they kill her. Knowing her friends they would try and come up with a way to stop it, but something told her she shouldn't try to.

A new sound brought her to a halt. Quieting her breathing the sound of footsteps reached her ears. They sounded like they were coming up from a side hall to her left, which meant she had three options to take. As if on cue a small light rounded the corner followed by three distinct voices that she would recognize in a crowded market. She froze for only a second like a deer in the headlights before she took off down the hallway in the opposite direction. Shouts of protest ensued as she attempted to create distance between them.

Just barely noticeable was a smaller corridor that she quickly ducked into. Despite them having a light she had made sure that she was far enough ahead that it couldn't reach her. This was too soon. She couldn't be found yet. She had no gameplan, no idea of how she was going to tell the rest of the team. She gulped in the cold air her head growing light. Sinking to the floor, her back to the wall she choked on the air. Her coughs rang out and she was sure that it would bring them back, but no one came.

She couldn't bring herself to face her team even though she knew she had no other choice. It was selfish of her to want to preserve her own life instead of doing anything in her power to save her friends, even if it meant losing her own. She caved in on herself, with her knees brought to her chest she sobbed, tears making a path down her cheek.

As she sat there crying and doing her best to accept her fate the air around her grew crisp with the sharp bite that temperature below freezing would only bring. Then, with not a care in the world snow began to fall. In the dark tunnels, it was light kisses to your bare skin. Landing then melting almost immediately, only to leave you with a cold spot from where it landed.

"Great now we have to find her in this?" Hunk asked as he swept the penlight across the tunnel. He had been the one to spot her before she had taken off in the opposite direction. "I saw her, I know I did!"

"No one's saying you didn't, Hunk," Shiro replied, "We all saw her..." She had been so frozen with fear that he was able to physically watch as the color drained from her face. Her eyes had been as wide as saucers maybe even bigger. The one thing however that scared Shiro the most, was how fast she disappeared. They had been feet from her and she just disappeared into thin air.

"If anything we'll keep us going we need to find Pidge before we can hardly move. The temperatures dropping more every second and it won't just be her freezing to death out here." It was the first he had spoken since they had left the bunker. It was also startling how serious his tone was. With the mutual agreement, the three continued on deeper into the tunnels not knowing that they had already passed their teammate.


	15. Chapter 14

It had been longer than planned. Longer than the group of three had wanted to stay out, but that didn't matter now. After a few more hours of searching, they stumbled across Pidge. She collapsed on the ground, her arms curled up to her chest. Hunk had immediately scooped her up glad to have found her.

Now they were almost back to the hidden bunker. Coran was farther ahead of Shiro and Hunk wanting to have the door opened long enough for them to walk through without waiting long.

Hunk gently set Pidge onto a cot across from Lance, draping the blanket over her. Since they had been gone, Keith had not moved from his spot on Lance's cot. His arms were loosely wrapped around Lance allowing him to move without restrictions. His face was neutral as he watched Hunk get Pidge settled before joining the others in the center of the room.

"Is she?"

"No, she's not," Shiro replied promptly. He clutched a bottle of water in his hands, "We discovered her like that." He sat down, back against the wall not looking at anything in particular. "How's Lance?"

Keith glanced down at the Cuban boy that still had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Since they had been gone, Keith had not moved from his spot on Lance's cot. "He's still asleep."

No one talked after that. They all sat either looking at the wall or looking at one of the two cots. The silence gripped them like a calm sea. It was like glass and it merely took one pebble to shatter the stillness.

"So what's next?"

The question came from Hunk. He was stood up against the wall, his orange headband in his hands.

"I guess we come up with a plan," Allura said. She had placed herself next to Pidge's cot, a hand gently running through her hair.

"We need to figure out the weakness of the intruder first," Coran said. He stood up and made his way over to the containers stacked against the wall next to the door. He dug around for a moment in the top container. "If I remember correctly. When King Alfor first installed the bunker, he was persistent for every single one to include a tablet that had access to the camera's."

A few seconds later he returned to the somewhat form of a circle they formed around the room. He clicked a few things on the tablet to power it on and then he watched for a moment. Swiped across the screen. Watched for a moment. He did this several more times before looking up.

Before he had a chance to get any words out Allura spoke, "There's no way you could've gone through all the castle's cameras."

"I didn't because I already found what we're looking for."

Those who were not sleeping or being used as a pillow/stuffed animal gathered around Coran. They watched as a solitary creature, about as tall as Shiro lounged on the bridge. They were merely sitting there, eyes focused on the expanse of space.

"I would say they're not posing a threat, now would be our time to strike." Allura said looking at the others for approval.

"Pidge drop the knife!" Keith's shout caused the others to look up. The blanket that had been on the cot was presently on the floor. Pidge was across the room near the weapons, a small dagger in hand. She was pointing it towards herself, her eyes closed in concentration.

"Pidge look at me," Allura spoke. She held her hands out in front of her, eyes wide.

Looking up Pidge watched as Allura slowly came closer, instinctively she stepped backward only to be stopped by the wall.

"Don't come any closer." Pidge shouted her hands shaking as she tried to hold the blade still.

Allura stopped her hands where Pidge could see them, "It's alright. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you."

Pidge gradually began to shake her head. "No. No I'm not. Why'd you bring me here? Do you know what you've done?" Pidge began to go on a ramble repeating the same things over and over again.

"What do you mean you're saving us?! You have a knife pointed at your chest! How the hell is that saving us?!" Keith shouted only to instantly regret it when she curled in on herself drawing the knife closer to her. She continued shaking her head.

"No. No. I'm not safe. You're not safe."

"Pidge, take a deep breath for me." Allura spoke, sending a side glance to Keith. Pidge complied, relaxing slightly.

"Why'd you bring me here?" she asked not looking at anyone.

"We'll answer all your questions but can you answer mine?"

Pidge nodded.

"Why do you think we're unsafe?"

Pidge tightened her grip on the knife, shaking her head slightly.

"Pidge, please talk to me. We can help."

"You can't stop who's coming." she whispered.

Allura glanced back at the others shrugging her shoulders.

"He's coming," Pidge whispered.

Everyone turned to look at her shocked at her words.

"He told me what would happen if I didn't listen and now he's coming for you." The words escaped her mouth as if she wasn't human, but simply a machine delivering a message.

"Pidge," Shiro asked, "What are you talking about?"

At that moment there was a knock at the door to the bunker. Everyone froze.

If the intruder was still on the bridge, then who was at the door?


	16. Chapter 15

No one moved. They watched each other communicating about what they should do without saying anything.

The knock at the door sounded again. "I know you're in there." The muffled voice on the other side of the door said.

Pidge, in her corner, had dropped the blade to her side when the knock first sounded, but know she raised it up once again. She knew that she had no choice now. If she killed herself she would save her friends from the pain of having to kill her themselves.

Allura noticing this leapt at her. Pidge surprised dropped the knife from her hands. She was about to yell out, once again telling them about how they were making a big mistake, but Allura covered her mouth.

Coran picked up the knife and placed it back with the other weapons. Shiro dug through the containers and found some rope. With Allura's help they were able to restrain Pidge's hands. Which allowed them to focus on the matter at hand and not have to worry about Pidge.

"I'm telling you there will be no mercy," Pidge said for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Farther back in the room, Keith carefully slid himself from Lance's tight embrace. Stirring from his sleep Lance noticed that the warm body beneath him had moved, he sounded a slight whimper. Keith froze when he felt Lance latch onto him tighter than before. He gave a pained expression to the others as he glanced down at the blue paladin who was begging him not to go. Keith didn't want to leave him, but at the same time he knew that he needed to help the others.

"I've got to help the others," he whispered even though he knew Lance probably wasn't listening. "I'll be back. When I do come back we can cuddle all you want alright?"

Lance seemed to have understood what he said despite his current sleeping state and loosened the grip he had around Keith's waist. Keith then stood up stretching from being in the same position for so long. Without a second thought he removed his jacket and draped it over Lance before joining the others by the door.

"The tunnels are too narrow to fight in." Allura stated, "Besides we don't even know what kind of creature is out there."

"I do."

The whole group turned to look at Pidge again. They glanced at the girl unsure as to whether or not they could trust this person who had just tried to kill themselves in an effort to save them from supposedly being slaughtered as she had put it.

"Pidge what do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"I mean that I know who or what is behind that door." She adjusted are hands bound behind her. "They're the same person."

"I don't follow."Allura said. She shifted back and forth from one foot to the other.

"The intruder can split into as many copies of himself as he so desires." Pidge explained, "I found out when I was first shoved out of the tunnels by Lance's impostor."

"Wait Lance had an impostor?" Hunk asked glancing over at the sleeping Cuban.

"Yes, but that's not important right now." Pidge growled adjusting her restraints.

The knock sounded at the door again. "I'm counting to thirty and you better let me in."

"What's important is stopping the intruder, which is to give him what he wants."

"No. I refuse to negotiate with him. His stupid little game ends right here right now!" Keith said. Shiro nodded his approval.

"Keith is right This thing, has done enough damage to all of us. We don't even know what happened to Lance in the tunnels or if he'll ever be the same." Shiro commented, "We have to come up with a plan and fast.

"This is never going to work." Pidge whispered from her spot on the floor behind the others.

"Shh." Keith whispered back.

Seconds later the door that was supposed to be invisible crashed to the floor and in walked the creature that they all had been running from. He glanced around the pitch black room.

"Green Paladin. I know you're in here." He said spinning around to survey the whole room.

Back behind the crates Pidge began to shake her eyes clenched shut. The hairs on the back of er neck stood on end as she heard him moving around the room.

"I know that you haven't listened to what I told you to do," he chuckled to himself, "now there must be a punishment."

Pidge buried herself into Allura's embrace muffling her sobs and to stop herself from shaking. The creature heard her and turned towards them.

"Gotcha."

"Now!" Shiro cried out.

Simultaneously him and Keith pulled onto two separate ropes. Ropes that tightened around the creatures ankles and sent them towards the ceiling.

Cautiously the group revealed themselves from behind the crates just as the creature let a string of curses leave his mouth. The group looked with disgusted curiosity at his caked mud like skin. Pidge not able to move from her spot stayed hidden but that didn't stop the creature from calling out to her.

"Green Paladin. You and your team may have stopped me from hurting them this time but just you wait. Next time will be the last time and I'll be going for you first."

No one was able to respond before wind came in from no where. It blew sand all around making it impossible to see. As quick as it had come it was gone leaving them coughing the hell out of their lungs and two ropes hanging with no intruder.

The group said nothing as they returned to check on their frozen companion. She was staring at the ground her hands clamping onto her upper arms until her knuckles were white.

"We have no choice now." she said quietly, "You must kill me."


	17. Chapter 16

"No. Absolutely not." Shiro shook his head, "We're going to find another way."

"And if we don't?" Pidge asked, "Shiro we've run out of options! Tell me. Do you see a way out of this? Cause I sure as hell don't."

Shiro ran a hand through his hair. He started to pace back and forth in the room deep in thought. Allura hadn't left her spot from Pidge's side, being the protective older sister that seemed to come naturally. Keith had moved back to Lance's cot sitting beside it. His eyes followed the older Paladin back and forth across the room.

"I've possibly got an idea," Hunk said. He was currently sitting atop one of the crates. His headband was back in it's usual place on his head.

Everyone turned to him, their faces eager. "What is your idea?"

"It's simple." he said to Shiro before turning his gaze to Pidge, "We kill her."

"What!" everyone, including Pidge shouted. Just because Hunk was a cinnamon roll that we all love, doesn't mean that they doubted that he had a dark side. They just never realized how dark it could get.

"No listen." Hunk said, "What if we make the intruder believe we have killed her? Then while he's distracted reveling in his supposed victory then we can finally kick his ass off this ship for good."

"That may work," Allura said, "If anything it would buy us time to figure out what his weakness is."

One by one they turned to Shiro. He was the only one who hadn't responded to Hunk's plan.

"We can't fake any of it. He's too smart for that."

"Agreed." Coran said.

"That means that it'll be real!" Allura cried out, "Were trying to defeat the intruder without losing one of us in the process!"

"No, think about it." Pidge said, "It could work if we plan it right." she stood up and looked at Keith. "How skilled are you with knives?"

"I'd say I'm pretty good. Better than most." He replied.

"Good enough to stab a person without killing them?"

Keith narrowed his eyes seeing where she was going with this. "I mean yeah. If that was the plan, however, in this case it is not."

"We don't have a choice." Pidge replied.

"There's always an option, Pidge. You just have to look for it." Shiro said. He thought for a moment, "If we could send out a distress signal that would get us backup on the outside."

"And by the time they got here we'd all be dead." The voice was one that they hadn't heard in several hours. It was quiet, like he was scared to speak. They all turned to find Lance had situated himself on the edge of the cot, Keith's jacket draped across his shoulders. Even Keith seemed surprised that he hadn't noticed Lance had woken up. He still seemed unsteady. His hands gripped the jacket tightly as he glanced at the group. His eyes were like an ocean on a stormy day, dull and broken.

"We do have the healing pods," Coran mentioned, "If it really is our only option we could use them."

"I don't like this." Hunk said, "There's too big of a chance that something could go wrong."

"I get that Hunk," Pidge replied. Considering what they were thinking about doing she was quite calm, but then again she had faced far worse than the pending plan. "But we may not have another choice." Hunk didn't say anything in reply, only nodding his head.

"So what are we going to do about Mr. Alien guy?" Keith asked, "He didn't seem that he was going to leave anytime soon."

"We figure out his weakness then," Shiro said, "Coran, can I see that tablet?"

Coran gladly obliged handing the tablet over. Shiro began flipping through the camera's until he found what he was looking for.

On the screen, the intruder could be found in the lounge area. He just sat on the couch leaning back and enjoying the fact that he had a ship pretty much all to himself, save for the crew that was still in the hidden tunnels. Right off the bat it seemed that he didn't have anything that could be used against him, he seemed practically invincible. Then he did something that surprised them all.

In the middle of the room was a pit with the couch in it. The intruder laid down on the couch, face up eyes closed. Then without warning it started raining, filling the center up with water. Then he just...melted. Like literally became liquid mud.

"Is everyone thinking what I'm thinking?" Pidge asked.

"If you mean trapping the bastard while he's in his liquid state then sending his ass into space then, yes." Allura replied.

"The question is, how can we get him to let his guard down once we let our presence known?"


	18. Chapter 17

The tip of Keith's brushed against Pidge's side. They were only waiting for the signal from the others, so there they stood facing each other. Keith had his blade in his hand, his free arm placed on Pidge's shoulder. Pidge held her right hand atop Keith's, her left arm hanging lose by her side.

"Keith," Pidge she said in hopes to give him encouragement. She knew that he could do this.

"Don't" he replied, his eyes not quite meeting hers. He adjusted his grip around the handle sighing.

Behind them was the healing pod, opened and ready to be filled by a new occupant. If everything went according to plan then Pidge would be out in only a few hours.

Having grown accustomed to the silence and the sound of the Air conditioning kicking on; they both jumped from the sound of the radio crackling to life. Reaching to his belt Keith pulled the radio from it just as Allura began to speak.

"Guys were in position. Proceed with phase one."

"Roger that." Keith said before clipping the radio back onto his belt. He returned to his previous position with his hand on her shoulder. He glanced at her. She was looking at him, her face neutral. She gave her a slight nod of her head before closing her eyes.

Taking a deep breath he placed the tip once again against her side. He paused for a second, before making a deep slice. Pidge gripped his hand doing, attempting to muffle her cries of pain as her green and white shirt became a crimson.

Keith dropped his blade and scooped her up, placing her in the pod. Once the pod began the healing process he pulled the radio from his belt.

"She's in the pod. Ready whenever you are."

Nothing.

"Guys? Ready for phase two," he said. He released the button only to be met with static.

Without warning the lights flickered before going out. The only light was the soft blue glow emanating from the pod. Keith searched for his blade, only to accidentally send it sliding across the floor when his foot found it before his hand.

There was a crash and then the lights came back on. He spotted his blade over by the wall and went to retrieve it. When he turned around he was met with Allura, Shiro, and Hunk all passed out on the floor in front of the pod. The pod itself had several cracks running through the glass as if someone threw something at it.

He ran up to the others checking each of their pulses. He was relieved to find all of them with stable breathing. Sound at the door to the medical bay captured his attention. He cautiously made his way over his blade ready to strike at a moments notice.

Just as he was about three feet from the door they opened. Someone hit his chest and before he knew it he was flat on his back. Opening his eyes he found Lance just moaning in pain on his chest. Slowly he sat up allowing Lance to do the same.

Lance was gripping his head smearing the blood the began to decorate his temple and darken pieces of his hair.

"Lance what happened?" Keith asked softly rubbing small circles on the younger boy's back. He had Keith's jacket tied around his waist.

In response Lance simply shook his head. Sucking in a breath of air when his head began pulsing with pain when he tried to stand.

"Easy there," Keith commented as he helped Lance to his feet. Keith led him over to lean against the pod while he went and found some bandages.

He had only turned his back for a few seconds before the door opened again and Lance let out a shriek. A shriek so startling it caused Keith to drop everything he was carrying and run over to see what was going on.

The same creature from before was standing in the doorway a crooked grin on his face. Keith drew his blade his eyes narrowed.

"Glad to finally see us all in one place." the creature said folding his hands together in absolute pleasure.

"Stop right there." Keith growled.

The creature stopped where he was lowering his hands. He frowned his face growing darker as he glared at the red paladin. "I'm going to make that green paladin pay if it's the last thing I do. She thought that she could get away with tricking me, but you should know that I'm too smart for that."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. " Keith said. His entire team was knocked out, except for Lance who was too frozen with fear to do anything at the moment, and Keith wasn't blaming him. This creature was capable of a lot of things, but Keith wasn't going to allow him to be successful with hurting his friends and getting away with it.

"Suit yourself," the creature mumbled before lunging at Keith. Keith dodged just in time for him to fly right past him. The creature then turned and lunged for him again. Keith was about to dodge once again, but he slipped landing on ice that appeared out of nowhere.

The creature then began to land a series of punches to his face and chest before backing off, wanting him to stand up to finish him for good.

Groaning he clambered to his feet, head spinning. He swiped his blade at the creature in attempt to get him to back off. Only he grabbed the blade tearing it from Keith's hand. He gasped as the creature wrapped his hand around his neck and drew him close.

"Check mate." The creature whispered. He then smiled as he tossed Keith into a cabinet that housed all the bandages and gauze as well as the sedatives.

Once he gathered his bearings he looked up to see the creature approaching the pod. He grit his teeth as his blood began to boil. Just in front of him a sedative rolled in front of him ready to use. he grabbed it before rising to his feet.

His body was bruised he can tell that much. He wrapped an arm around his waist as he approached. The creature was too caught up in what he was doing to even notice that Keith was almost on top of him.

Raising his arm he came down. The needle embedded itself in the creatures neck. Keith backed away leaving the syringe in the creatures neck.

The creature froze raising his hand and pulling out the syringe as he turned around to face him. He smirked before tossing it to the side, "Oh you're good." he said his voice showing that he was not impressed, "Just not that good." He began walking towards Keith who was backing away.

Then all at once the creature froze. He dropped to his knees swaying as he glared at Keith. "well done," the creature mumbled as he slipped into unconsciousness. Slowly his body began to melt until all that was left was a puddle of mud.

Keith sank to the floor in relief and pain. He took a deep breath only gasp as pain flooded his rib cage. He sensed someone by his side, he looked up to find Lance kneeling next to him, concern and fear in his eyes.

"I'm fi- ah-shit," He grumbled. He was going to need a healing pod, if he was going to survive this.

Lance helped him to his feet after a lot of grumbling and cursing. Leading him over to another healing pod Lance helped him into it. As soon as the door slid shut he succumbed to sleep.


	19. Chapter 18

A beep.

Cool air rushing past.

Body falling forward.

The thing that snapped Pidge to attention was herself hitting the floor of the medical bay. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the ceiling. Rolling to her side she got an arm beneath her raising herself to a sitting position

Laying in front of her were three of her teammates all passed out. To her left she turned to find Keith in a healing pod. Next to the pod Lance was slumped against it a white bandage wrapped around his head, crimson staining only a small section. To her right was a clear container with a khaki colored liquid. Paying it no mine she turned back to her teammates in front of her.

They were beginning to stir. One by one they all began to sit up. Shiro was the first up, he glanced at the container then at Lance and Keith. Once he finally stood up and turned that's when he noticed Pidge. She followed his gaze to her side. She was still wearing the same blood stained shirt.

Noticing this she rose to her feet, "I'm going to go get into some clean clothes." She didn't wait for a response before she was out the door.

Once she was free from the medical bay Pidge glanced down at her side the dried blood caked on her shirt brought an unsettling feeling to her. It tossed her insides making her dizzy. It wasn't that blood made her squeamish it was the fact that she should've died. She should've just have let the creature have his way with her, but she went to her friends. Now Keith was in a healing pod, Lance had a head injury and will probably never be the same. Allura, Shiro, and Hunk were all knocked unconscious, and Coran...

Wait a minute.

Where was Coran?

As soon as the thought formed she was down the hallway and into her room. She threw off her dirty clothes and threw on another pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Not bothering to mess with her frazzled hair she took off again back towards the Medical Bay. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she did her best to keep her imagination from getting the best of her.

She walked in to find Allura and Shiro helping Keith from the pod, while Hunk looked over Lance. They turned to look at her as she entered out of breath.

"Where's Coran?"

They exchanged either raised shoulders or with a shake of the head, until Lance spoke up.

"We were following the plan. You guys go out and we'll stay back and that's exactly what we did. Only a few minutes after you guys had left the bunker one of you came back."

"That's not possible we were all out here," Keith replied, his voice raspy from the lack of water. Allura and Shiro sat him on the stairway before Allura walked across to the cabinet to grab a bottle of water.

"That's what we thought. So we confronted them, they then revealed their true form," Lance paused for a moment rubbing his eyes, "He lunged for the both of us."

Another pause.

"I-I was too freaked out to move and the creature quickly knocked me out. When I came too I was in the medical bay with Keith," A slight blush dusted his tan cheeks. There was no need for him to tell the others that he had come to laying on Keith's chest, although he wasn't going to complain.

Wait what?

Shaking his head from his thoughts, he returned back to reality.

"This makes no sense," Allura said, "First this-this whatever you want to call it, wants to make Pidge pay for absolutely no reason other to see blood be spilled. Then out of the blue he goes after Coran?"

"I agree. That is odd." Shiro replied, "but what I would like to know is-" He points to the clear container- "What is that?"

"It's the intruder," Keith muttered. He wasn't awake to witness what had happened after he had jabbed the sedative into the creature, but he could assume that Lance had taken care of it.

"Well what are we supposed to do with it now?" Hunk asked. He picked up the container tipping it side to side watching as the liquid swished back and forth.

"We get rid of it. Throw it back out into space." Pidge replied.

"And leave it for someone else?" Shiro asked, "No thanks."

"Shiro's right," Allura jumped in, "We have to find a way to destroy this creature for good. For the safety of all travelers."


	20. Chapter 19

Keith rolled over onto his side shifting himself into a more comfortable position. He was normally a light sleeper, so it was no surprise when a muffled sound awoke him. He laid there for a while trying to determine where the sound was coming from. Slowly he sat up having guessed that it was coming from the other side of Hunk.

Rising as quietly as possible he found his way past Hunk's cot, only to find Lance's empty. Looking next to the bed he found Lance with his knees curled up to his chest. He had one hand gripping his hair tightly, the other placed across his mouth. He was shaking as he attempted to smother his cries.

"Hey," Keith whispered softly reaching out a hand to him.

In response Lance grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the bed. Keith didn't have a chance to respond before Lance was on top of him hands around his throat. He was shaking worse than before, tears still falling over his cheeks.

"I'm going to kill you," Lance screamed, "For everything you've done!"

Keith was entirely confused. What had he done? On either side of him he could hear the others waking from the commotion. At this point he was gasping for air as Lance continued to strangle him.

Then all at once Shiro pulled Lance off of him and had him pinned on the floor. Allura was right there with a sedative. She quickly administered it and Lance succumbed to sleep.

Keith was staring eyes wide at Lance, his hand was around his neck as he still felt the ghost of Lance's hands.

"I don't understand. Why would he attack me like that?" Keith asked. He thought that they had an understanding that they were closer than that.

"I don't know. All I know is that we need to make sure that we have someone watching him until we get this figured out." Shiro flicked his hands upwards signaling to Keith to raise his head so he could get a better look at his neck. "It's not too bad. There will definitely be some bruising though."

Carefully they moved Lance back to his bed, pulling the comforters over him. Quietly they made there way to another cot sitting on it or around it.

"We need to find Coran," Allura said, "He's the only one of us who would know anything."

"A couple of us can check the tunnels while the rest of us stay here in case he decides to show up?" Hunk suggested.

Shiro nodded, "We could do that," He rose to his feet, "Keith you can come with me. Allura, Pidge, and Hunk can all stay here."

"That won't be necessary."

They all whipped around to find Coran standing at the door. His clothes were covered in dirt and sand. Along the arms and torso as well as part of the legs were torn. He looked as if he had crawled through a narrow crawlspace.

"Coran!" Allura cried jumping up and rushing to the older man. This Altean was the last connection she had to her father. If he had died then she would've had nothing left.

Coran grunted as Allura slammed into him wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Still in the embrace he brought a fist up to his mouth covering it as he coughed.

Allura carefully backed away her eyes wide, "You're hurt!" She reached out for an arm, "Let's get you into a healing pod." She began to pull him towards one only to stop when he didn't follow.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I'm as chipper as ever!" he smiled striking a pose with his hands on his hips.

"Your coughing," That can't be a good sign, "we should put you in one just to be safe," she reached for him again.

He stepped back out of her reach frowning at her, "I told you I'm fine."

"If you insist," she says softly her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Coran are you sure that your okay," Shiro asked approaching the two, Pidge and Hunk were not far behind.

"Quite sure," He replied his gaze hardening when he made eye contact with Pidge.

Pidge shuddered having felt a cold chill down her spine. She gave Coran one last look before returning to her cot. Something was off with him, whether or not the others were thinking it too, she knew that the creature had something to do with it.


	21. Chapter 20

"L-Lance?" Pidge asked her voice shaking.

"Yeah?" Lance replied from behind her. He noticed her completely frozen in front of him. He watched as the flashlight's beam made its way higher revealing a person standing in front of them.

The face was Lance's the only thing that was different was that the eyes were opened wide staring into her soul. The mouth was twisted up into a creepy grin, sending chills down His spine. The impostor took a step forward and instinctively Pidge took a step back and grabbed Lance's sleeve pulling on it.

"R-R-R..." she couldn't get the word out of her mouth, "R-R-R-RUN!" she finally managed to scream the word and without hesitation Lance took off running in the opposite direction Pidge close behind. Lance kept going not bothering to check to see if Pidge was still behind him. Only when he heard her scream did he stop and make his way back to her.

He pulled his bayard from his belt activating it immediately. He stopped taking aim at the shadowy figure above the younger paladin.

He fired. The blue blast streaked towards the creature. It hit it's mark making the creature growl. He watched as the creature backed off, that was his cue he ran up to Pidge looking down in horror at the amount of blood pooling around her body.

Just as he reached her a hand gripped his throat closing his airways until he couldn't breath. No matter what he did the hand only tightened. As his body weakened from the lack of air he watched as his vision blurred into blackness.

Lance jerked awake sweat drenching his forehead, neck, back, chest. He threw the blankets back peeling the shirt from his skin and dropping it on the floor.

On either side of him Hunk and Keith slept on their cots. Not giving them a second thought Lance made his way over to a sink. He was running his hands over his face, through his hair, and down the back of his neck. When he finally reached the sink he turned on the cold water splashing it over his face.

It's just a dream Lance.

He kept telling himself the same thing. Unfortunately he knew that it wasn't too much of that dream was too real. The screams, the blood, the gunshot. It shook him right to his core. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the same thing.

Drying his face he turned back to the cots. He noticed immediately someone standing next to his cot, with the lights in the room dimmed to practically pitch black it was impossible to see who was there exactly.

He turned for just a second to throw the towel back onto the counter when he turned back the figure was gone. Lance rubbed his eyes blinking a few times as well. Cautiously he walked towards his cot. He didn't see any threat until he sat down on his bed.

There resting on his pillow was his bayard. His eyes widened, he backed up towards the end of his cot. He'd left that in the tunnels when Allura and the others had first found him. This wasn't going to be over soon, not by a long shot.

The thought scared him. How long were they going to have to endure this torture? Were they ever going to win?

He sighed resting his face in his hands for a moment before running them through his hair. He stopped halfway staring at the ground. If all this pain and torture could end.

"Lance?"

He jerked up looking straight into the face of Coran. "C-Coran when did you get here?"

"I've been here for a while!" Coran replied flashing a smile, "You were sedated when I walked in on the others all huddled up in here." He flashed another smile.

Lance's face dropped his mouth opening slightly, "but how's that possible. I watched him break your legs." Lance replied voice cracking in the process.

Coran then went for his throat, "Tell anyone that I'm not the real Coran and I'll end your life without a second thought. I'm sure you'd appreciate it too. After all you've been through hell and I'm sure death would be a mercy to you."

Lance gasped as he fell back onto the bed. He grit his teeth watching as the creature stared down at him.

"No matter how hard you try, how many of my copies you capture you'll never get me. I'll always be one step ahead."

* * *

_**AN: So Sorry for the long wait but Chapter 20 is here now! And I'll try and have 'She Chose You' , 'Wake Me Up', and 'Challenge Accepted' Updates here soon! :)**_


End file.
